Clayton Ray Echard (born April 29, 1993) is an American television personality best known for his appearances as a contestant on season 18 of ''

The Bachelorette A bachelorette is an unmarried woman. Bachelorette may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Bachelorette'', a reality television dating show part of ''The Bachelor'' franchise with numerous versions: ** ''The Bachelorette'' (American TV ser ...

'', and as the star of

season 26 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...

of '' The Bachelor''. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

for

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

and spent training camp with the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) in 2016.

Early life and education

Echard was born on April 29, 1993, in

Eureka, Missouri Eureka is a city located in St. Louis County, Missouri, St. Louis County, Missouri, United States, adjacent to the cities of Wildwood, Missouri, Wildwood and Pacific, Missouri, Pacific, along Interstate 44 in Missouri, Interstate 44. It is in ...

, to parents Brian and Kelly. He has two brothers, Nate and Patrick. He began playing football in the sixth grade. He was a wide receiver during his junior year at Eureka High School, weighing 170 pounds, before shifting to a

defensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

and gaining 30 pounds for the role as a senior. He graduated from high school in 2011. Though he did not receive any scholarship offers, Echard was selected as a

walk-on Walk On may refer to: Music * ''Walk On'', a 1994 album by Boston, and its title song Albums * ''Walk On'' (Boston album), 1994 * ''Walk On'' (John Hiatt album), 1995 * ''Walk On'' (Randy Johnston album), 1992 *''Walk On'', a 2007 album by ...

member of the Missouri Tigers football team at the start of his first year at the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Universit ...

. At the University of Missouri, he studied health sciences and minored in Spanish and business, receiving a bachelor's degree in 2015.

Career

College and professional football

Echard

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Entertainment * ''Red Shirts'' (film), a 1952 film about Anita Garibaldi by Franco Rossi * Redshirt (stock character), originally derived from ''Star Trek'', a stock character who dies soon after b ...

ed his freshman year and played one game during the 2012 season. He was named to the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

academic honor roll for 2012. At the start of the 2013 season, Echard was moved from defensive end to

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...

. He played 12 games and recorded one assisted tackle. He played in both offensive and defensive positions in all 14 games during the 2014 season, eventually settling as tight end, which he continued to play during the 2015 season. He made two receptions for 14 yards with one

start Start can refer to multiple topics: *Takeoff, the phase of flight where an aircraft transitions from moving along the ground to flying through the air * Starting lineup in sports *Standing start, and rolling start, in an auto race Acronyms *St ...

in 2015. Echard signed with the

of the

as a tight end in July 2016, but was cut from the team before the start of the regular season in September 2016. Echard worked as a sales representative for

Stryker Corporation Stryker Corporation is an American multinational medical technologies corporation based in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Stryker's products include implants used in joint replacement and trauma surgeries; surgical equipment and surgical navigation system ...

, a medical device company, in 2016. He is currently a real estate agent in Scottsdale.

''The Bachelorette''

Echard first appeared as a contestant on Michelle Young's season of ''The Bachelorette''. He was first announced as a potential contestant for the season, along with 34 other men, in July 2021. He finished in eighth place.

''The Bachelor''

In September 2021, ''Variety'' and other sources reported that Echard was cast as the star of

of ''The Bachelor''. On September 16, he spoke to fans of the franchise in his hometown, saying that he was "excited" and "a little nervous". Echard was officially confirmed by ABC on November 30, 2021. The season premiered on January 3, 2022. In the final episode, Echard chose Susie Evans, but she rejected him. It was later revealed on the live ''After the Final Rose'' special that they had since gotten back together.

Personal life

Echard was in a relationship with

Susie Evans Susan Christine Evans (born August 19, 1993) is an American television personality and former beauty pageant titleholder, who is best known for being the winner of The Bachelor (American season 26), season 26 of ''The Bachelor (American TV series ...

from December 2021 to September 2022.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Echard, Clayton 1993 births American football defensive linemen American football tight ends American salespeople Bachelor Nation contestants Living people Missouri Tigers football players Players of American football from Missouri People from St. Louis County, Missouri Seattle Seahawks players